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Percussion/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby plays the drums on stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Tim calls to him. TIM: Moby. Moby! MOBY! Moby is actually playing in his own house, not on a stage. TIM: Hey, you're making a racket! Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I'd like to know about drums and other instruments like drums. Sincerely, Maybelle. Well, drums are a kind of percussion instrument. Percussion instruments are designed to make unique noises when you hit them, either with a stick or with your hands. Moby taps his drum stick on Tim's head. TIM: Ow. In music, it's often described as the "heartbeat" of a song. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, percussion instruments are usually in charge of rhythm. Drums keep a beat, which supports a musical piece and keeps the time. If you think about it, even before we were born, we listened to a steady beat: our mother's heartbeat. An animation shows a fetus inside of its mother's stomach, moving to the sound of its mother's heartbeat. TIM: And when we were babies, we made a beat by shaking a rattle or banging pots and pans. An animation shows a small boy using a spoon to beat on a pan. TIM: Sometimes when we listen to music, we tap our feet or clap our hands to the beat. An animation shows a person's shoe tapping on a floor. TIM: These are natural ways that people respond to rhythm. Moby snaps his finger and moves his head in an awkward rhythm. TIM: Well, I guess not everyone has rhythm. Don't worry Moby, you'll get it. Anyway, percussion is one of the oldest and easiest ways to make music. Early humans made primitive instruments by stretching animal skin over gourds to make drums. They'd rub sticks into pieces of grooved wood, and fill hollowed gourds with dry seeds. An animation shows figures playing percussion instruments while another figure dances. TIM: Bells are another ancient percussion instrument. They probably originated in China. An animation shows a large ancient Asian bell. TIM: In Europe, they were first used in churches. An image shows bells on a European church. TIM: Today, there are tons of different percussion instruments, and they're played in all kinds of ways. An image shows two types of percussion instruments, split into two groups. TIM: Some are drums, any instrument that has a stretched membrane or drumhead covering a hollow shell. An image shows different types of drums. TIM: Snare drums, bongos, and timpani are just some of the different drums that are played in different countries throughout the world. Images show these drums. TIM: All drums work by hitting the drum head, either with your hand or a mallet, which causes it to vibrate and make noise. Moby hits the drum head with a drum stick and sound waves reverberate from the drum head. TIM: Some percussion instruments have no membrane. These create sound when the instrument itself is made to vibrate. Triangles, maracas, castanets, and xylophones all work this way. Animations show these percussion instruments. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, it's hard to imagine any jazz or rock-and-roll band without a drummer. Bands usually have a drum kit, which generally includes a bass drum, Moby presses the foot pedal that controls the mallet hitting the bass drum. TIM: snare drum, Moby hits the snare drum with a drum stick. TIM: some toms, Moby hits the toms with a drum stick. TIM: and my personal favorite, the cymbals. Moby hits the cymbals with a drum stick. TIM: A few percussion instruments, like the timpani, have a pitch. These are usually tuned to a certain note. The bigger the drum, the lower the pitch. An animation shows drums being hit with drum sticks while corresponding sound waves appear above them. TIM: On the xylophone, each bar has a certain pitch. An animation shows a xylophone being played. The smaller bars have higher pitches. TIM: And these days, you can create a crazy number of percussion sounds and rhythms with electronic drum machines. An animation shows a drum machine. MOBY: Beep. Moby taps the drum sticks on the top of his head. TIM: Yes, Moby, your head is tuned to a nice pitch. Moby taps his drum stick on Tim's head. TIM: D-ahhh! Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Arts & Music Transcripts